House letter-box.



A. J. LINCK. HOUSE LETTER BOX.

APPLIGATION FILED APR. 8, 1912.

I 1,090,997, V Patented Mar. 24, 1914. 22 20 COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH cm, WASHINGTON, D. c

ALBERT J. LINGK, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIG-NOR TO NORTHWESTERN MAIL BOX 00., OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

HOUSE LETTER-BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 2a, 191%.

Application filed April 8, 1912. Serial No. 689,383.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT J. LiNoK, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis,in the State of Missouri,have invented a new and useful HouseLetter-Box, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that type of mail boxes known as house letter boxes and one of its objects is to provide a box made up of front and back sections hingedly connected, the front section being adapted to swing outwardly and downwardly to give access to the contents of the box.

A further object is to provide a box having its mail receiving opening in the top thereof where it is normally closed by a flap, means being provided for supporting this flap in elevated position while the box is open so that, the closing of the box will not be interfered with by the flap.

A further object is to provide improved means for locking the box in closed position.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings :Figure 1 is a front elevation of the box. Fig. 2 is a section on line AB Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on line OD Fig. 2. Fig. 41 is an enlarged vertical section through the upper end of one side portion of the box and showing the relative positions of the parts when the closure flap is held in raised position.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates the back section of the box, the same being preferably formed of sheet metal and having forwardly extending flanges 2 along the side edges there of and another forwardly extending flange 3 along the bottom edge thereof. The back of the section 1 extends upwardly above the flanges 2, as shown at 4 and has openings 5 therein.

A top plate 5 is arranged between the upper end portions of the flanges 2 and has s de wings 6 which extend between and are rlveted or otherwise secured to the flanges. A tongue 7 extends downwardly from the middle portion of the back or upper edge of the top plate 5 and engages a strap 8 which is struck inwardly from the upper port on of the back of section 1. Top plate 5 1s lnclined downwardly and forwardly and has a longitudinal slot 9 therein for receiving mail. The material struck from the top plate in the formation of this slot is bent downwardly to form an inclined ledge 10 for directing mail from the slot 9 down wardly toward the back of the section 1. A flange 11 extends downwardly from the front edge of the plate 5 and is formed with or secured to the forward ends of the wings 6.

A slot 12 is formed between the top plate 5 and one of its wings 6 at a point between the back of the section 1 and the slot 9. This slot 12 receives a finger 13 extending upwardly from a dog 1a which is pivotally mounted, as at 15, upon one of the wings 6. The slot 12 is so proportioned that, under certain conditions, the finger 13 is free to swing backwardly and downwardly within this slot and below the upper surface of the top plate 5.

The front sect-ion 16 of the box is in the form of a tray placed normally on end, the side walls of the front section being extended along the outer faces of the side flanges 2 and being pivotally connected, at their lower inner corners to the lower ends of the flanges 2, as shown at 17. The upper or outer end 18 of the front section is adapted, when said front section is in closed position, to fit snugly upon the upper face of the top plate 5 and has a slot 19 therein adapted to register with the slot 9. This upper end of the front section normally abuts against the upstanding portion at of the back section 1 and, when in closed position, is adapted to be covered by a flap 20 having front and side flanges 21 designed to lap the sides and the front of the front section. A flange 22 extends upwardly from the back edge of the flap 20 and has tongues 23 extending therefrom and turned inwardly through the openings 5, these tongues thus cooperating with the flange 22 to form eyes whereby a hinge connection between the flap 20 and the back section 1 is formed.

An opening 24 may be formed in the front -wall 25 of the front section, this opening being surrounded by a flange 26 adapted to retain in place a glass closure 27. A label holder 28 may be secured to the inner face of the front 25 and extended across the opening 2st so as to retain the glass closure 27 in position.

An elongated loop 29, formed of spring wire, normally contacts with the front face 2150f the front section and constitutes a grip for holding newspapers and the like in position. The loop 29 is formed integral with coils 30 and the terminals of the wire are extended from these coils and through the front 25 onto the upper face of the lower or bottom end 31 of the front section 16. These terminals can be held in position in any desired manner, as by means of a plate 32 engaging them and riveted or otherwise fastened to the bottom 31.

For the purpose of securing the front section 16 in closed position, a stem 33 is mounted for rotation within the upper portion of the front 25 and has a wing or knob 34 at its outer end whereby it can be readily turned. Secured to the inner end of the stem 33 is a button 35 substantially oblong and which is so proportioned that, when the stem is turned to one position, one end of the button will engage the inner face of the flange 11 and thus hold the front sec-' tion 16 against outward movement relative to the top plate 5. Notches 36 are formed in the ends of the button 35 and each of them is adapted to receive the locking bolt 37 of a latch 38. This lock may be of any suitable construction and is fastened upon the inner face of the front 25 of section 16, the bolt of the lock being actuated by a suitable key, not shown, and which is adapted to be inserted into the lock through an opening 39 in the front of the section 16.

hen it is desired to open the box, the bolt 37 is retracted into the latch 38 by means of a suitable key, thus releasing button 35 and permitting it to be rotated by means of the wing or knob 341 so as to disengage it from the flange 11. The flap 20 is then swung upwardly out of the path of the front section 16 after which said section is swung forwardly and downwardly about its pivot 17. As soon as the end 18 of the front section 16 is moved forwardly away from the back of the section 1, the dog 14 gravitates so as to swing finger 13 forwardly and upwardly. Said finger will thus support the flap 20 in elevated position, as shown in Fig. 4 and with its front flange 21 out of the path of the section 16. After mail has been removed from the box, the front section 16 is swung upwardly and backwardly to closed position, the upper end 18 thereof passing under the elevated flap and finally moving against the finger 13 and pushing it rearwardly. The dog 1% is thus reset and the flap 20 permitted to gravitate onto the end 18 and into normal position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.. The section 16 is fastened in closed position by turning button 35 until it engages the inner face of the flange 11 after which the bolt 37 is shot into the recess 36 registering therewith. By lifting the flap 20, the registering slots 19 and 9 can be exposed so as to receive mail to be deposited in the box. If desired the dog it may be of such weight as to operate automatically to elevate the flap 20 when the. front section 16 is moved out of normal position.

What is claimed is A mail box including an inner fixed section having a'slotted top, a closure movably connected to the section and extending over said slotted top, a movable section hingedly connected at its lower end to the fixed section and having a slotted top extending be tween the closure and the slotted top of the fixed section, the slots in the tops normally registering, and a gravity operated closure moving element bearing upwardly against the slotted top of the movable section when the box is closed.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT J. LINCK.

Vitnesses CHARLES W. PALMER, FREDERICK G. MEYER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

